Family Ties - Season 1
Family Ties - Season 1 The first season of Family Ties aired from September 22, 1982 to April 11, 1983 on NBC in the US. Season 1 Summary Set during the early years of the Reagan adiministation, Elyse and Steven Keaton (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross) are Baby-boomers, former Hippies and liberals raising their three children: Alex (Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers) in Suburban Columbus, Ohio. Married in 1964, Elyse, an independent architect, and Steven, a station manager in a local public television station, were hippies during the 1960s. According to the episode, "A Christmas Story" in season one, they were influenced by John F. Kennedy and were members of the Peace Corps following their marriage in 1964. Alex was born in 1965 in Africa. Mallory was born while Elyse and Steven were students at the University of California, Berkeley in 1967, and Jennifer was born the night Richard Nixon won his second term in 1972. Much of the humor of the series focused on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the conservative politics which came to define the 1980s. Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit right-wing attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more traditional young woman in contrast to her feminist mother. Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, which was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother Alex. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Elyse and Steven have a fourth child, Andrew, born in 1984. Cast Main Cast * Meredith Baxter-Birney - Elyse Keaton * Michael Gross - Steven Keaton * Michael J. Fox - Alex P. Keaton * Justine Bateman - Mallory Keaton * Tina Yothers - Jennifer Keaton * Brian Bonsall - Andrew Keaton (seasons 5-7) Recurring Cast * Marc Price - Irwin "Skippy" Handelman * Scott Valentine - Nick Moore (seasons 4-7) * Tracy Pollan - Ellen Reed (season 4) * Courtney Cox - Laureen Miller (seasons 6-7) Guest stars * Judith Light - Stacey Hughes (season 2) * Tom Hanks - Ned Donnelly (seasons 1-2) * Geena Davis - Karen Nicholson (season 3) * River Phoenix - Eugene (season 4) * Julia-Louis Dreyfus - Susan "Raindrop" White, Esq. (season 6) * Crispin Glover - Doug (season 2) * Wil Wheaton - Timothy Higgins (season 5) * Corey Feldman - Student Walter (season 4) * Jeff Cohen - Marv, Jr. (season 5)/Dougie Barker (season 3) * Christina Applegate - Kitten (season 5) * Stephen Baldwin - Bobby (season 7) * Joseph-Gordon Levitt - Dougie (season 6) Episode list Pilot :Directed by: Asaad Kelada, Written by: Gary David Goldberg, Original air date: September 22, 1982, Production code: 001 Father and son clash when Steven demands that Alex not accompany his new girlfriend to an enlist, restricted country club. Not With My Sister You Don't :Directed by: Tony Mordente, Written by: Lloyd Garver, Original air date: September 29, 1982, Production code: 004 With Steven and Elyse away for the weekend, Alex hosts a wild party and worries over Mallory goofing off with one of his womanizing friends. I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend :Directed by: Michael Zinberg, Written by: Gary David Goldberg, Original air date: October 6, 1982, Production code: 003 Jennifer finds herself at the mercy of peer pressure when she is teased for being friends with a boy but relieves the pressures at her birthday party. Summer of '82 :Directed by: Tony Moredente, Written by: Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: October 27, 1982, Production code: 007 At 17 years old, Alex loses his virginity to a college girl (Amy Steel), but is heartbroken when he finds her the next day with another guy. He wants to give up girls altogether, but Steven explains that through the night might have "been beautiful" it was just a night. I Never Killed for My Father :Directed by: Dick Martin, Written by Kimberly Hill, Original air date: November 3, 1982, Production code: 008 Steven's father (John Randolph) arrives for a visit, causing the two to clash as always. When his father reveals an important piece of news, Steven begins to question their whole relationship. Give Uncle Arthur a Kiss :Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Lloyd Garver & Gary David Goldberg, Original air date: November 10, 1982, Production code: 012 When a close family friend and business associate of Steven touches 15 year old Mallory inappropriately, she goes to Alex for advice. He convinces her she misunderstood. "Uncle Arthur" comes over to the house and Mallory ends up alone with him. He apologizes about touching her, but then kisses her on the mouth. This time, Alex believes her, but makes Elyse talk to her. When Mallory weeps, Elyse admits something similar happened to her. Elyse confronts Arthur accidentally on Live TV. Arthur apologizes to Elyse and Steven and claims it is the fault of his divorce. When he finds himself alone with Mallory again, he apologizes and says he'll get help. Big Brother is Watching :Directed by: Alan Bergmann, Written by: Ruth Bennett, Original air date: November 17, 1982, Production code: 013 As the new editor of the school paper, Alex learns of a Algebra test cheating scandal that Mallory is involved in.